Majiwada Manpada ward reported half of TMC’s cases

Two years after a 36-year-old France returnee became the first Covid patient in Thane Municipal Corporation, more than 1.8 lakh Covid cases and 2,157 deaths have been reported in the city

Thane Two years after a 36-year-old France returnee became the first Covid patient in Thane Municipal Corporation, more than 1.8 lakh Covid cases and 2,157 deaths have been reported in the city.

From among the 1.8 lakh positive cases, Majiwada Manpada ward reported 52,000 cases, followed by Vartak Nagar at 24,000 (Praful Gangurde)

The Majiwada-Manpada ward and Vartak Nagar ward contributed to the highest number, that is more than 50 per cent of total Covid cases in all the three waves. On the contrary, the lowest overall positive cases were reported at Lokmanya and Savarkar Nagar wards, which mainly have densely-populated slums.

From among the 1.8 lakh positive cases, Majiwada Manpada ward reported 52,000 cases, followed by Vartak Nagar at 24,000. The lowest overall positive cases are at Lokmanya and Savarkar Nagar wards at merely 119.

Lokmanya and Savarkar Nagar wards, with a huge slum population, reported the most number of cases during the first wave. This made the civic body concerned, who took special efforts to ensure that the cases were under control. As the impact of the first wave subsided and the city opened up, the cases also increased and since then Majiwada and Manpada ward saw the highest number of positive cases. This continues till today, more than half of the daily or total positive cases are from this ward.

Dr Sanjay Pingulkar, senior physician and a member of Thane Rapid Action Covid team, said, “The increased number of cases in Majiwada-Manpada ward could probably be due to the increase in new population in this ward. It consists of the middle class or higher middle class population, who are keen on getting tested as soon as they get any symptoms. This is the reason why the number of positive cases seem more. However, there could be many others in other wards who have not gotten tested and hence it goes undetected.”

Dr Amol Gite, medical director, Siddhivinayak Hospital, Thane, said, “Those residing in this ward mostly belong to the affluent class. They do not use public transport or interact much with neighbours, making it difficult for them to develop herd immunity. This could be one of the reasons that an increasing number of positive patients emerged from this ward and continue to do so.”

Meanwhile, TMC officials claim that it was only when various avenues started opening up post the first wave that cases increased in Majiwada and Manpada wards. “Initially we sealed the societies with the most number of cases. Gradually we started identifying such areas and declared them as containment zones. However, as home isolation was encouraged, it became easier to monitor infected patients in Majiwada-Manpada and Vartak Nagar wards,” said Sandeep Malvi, Additional Commissioner, TMC.

Highest Mortality in those above 60

The overall positive cases in Thane city till now consist of those in the age group of 31 to 40 years but the highest mortality rate is among senior citizens. Among the overall positive cases, 22% are between 31 to 40 years of age, 18.4% are among 41 to 50 years of age, 16.9% are above 60 years of age and 16.7% of the positive population consists of those between 21 to 30 years of age.

The least affected are those below 10 years of age, with hardly 3.4% of the population and 6.9% among 11 to 20 years of age in the last two years. Currently, the most active cases are among the 41 to 50 years of age.